European Markets Slide Further Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions

The European markets ended Friday’s session in the red, extending the losses of the past few sessions. Investors remain rattled by the escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States. The European markets suffered their heaviest losses in November this week.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.00 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 1.06 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 1.08 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.74 percent.

In Frankfurt, Innogy dropped 1.60 percent. The utility maintained the outlook on the current year’s business performance after reporting a fall in first-half net income to 817 million euros from 1.08 billion euros last year.

Volkswagen finished higher by 0.23 percent after ending discussions with Tata Motors on a potential alliance.

In Paris, Total SA weakened by 1.81 percent and TechnipFMC surrendered 2.56 percent.

In London, Old Mutual fell 3.08 percent. The financial services firm, which is in the middle of breaking up into four parts, plans to list two divisions in 2018.

Biotech company Novozymes gained 1.16 percent in Copenhagen after cutting its growth outlook.

Germany’s consumer price inflation accelerated to a three-month high in July, final data from Destatis showed Friday.

Inflation, based on consumer prices, grew 1.7 percent annually, slightly faster than the 1.6 percent increase registered in June. This was the fastest since April and came in line with the flash estimate published on July 28.

Germany’s wholesale price inflation eased to an eight-month low in July, data from Destatis showed Friday. Wholesale prices advanced 2.2 percent on a yearly basis in July, slower than the 2.5 percent increase in June. This was the weakest growth since November 2016, when prices gained 0.8 percent.